WalletHub: Utah ranks as 11th safest state, Orem as safest city in state

Aerial view of Salt Lake City, Friday, Aug. 5, 2011. In an analysis of the safest states to live in, Utah is No. 11, according to the WalletHub personal finance website.

Ravell Call, Deseret News, KSL-TV Chopper 5

Summary

In an analysis of the safest states to live in, Utah is No. 11, according to the WalletHub personal finance website.

“I feel very fortunate to live here because I think it is nice to have a place where you feel, that is for the most part, safe. I do feel like it's safer than other places. I worry less than I would somewhere else.”

Nicole Paulson

SALT LAKE CITY — In an analysis of the safest states to live in, Utah is No. 11, according to the WalletHub personal finance website.

In observance of June as National Safety Month, WalletHub looked at financial, driving, workplace, home and community safety along with natural disasters to find the safest states.

Massachusetts ranked as the safest state to live in with New Hampshire, Minnesota, Hawaii and the District of Columbia filling out the rest of the top five safest states.

"We want to help people make an educated decision about the safety conditions of each state," as many families move during the summer and couples are wed, said WalletHub CEO Odysseas Papadimitriou.

Overall, Papadimitriou said, Utah does very well.

Utah's strengths are in workplace safety where it came in second place, and ranked as the third safest state in driving safety. Utah is the fourth safest state when it comes to natural disasters and ranked No. 12 overall for financial safety.

"However, the one area that Utah needs to work on is its own crime statistics because on that front, actually in some areas it's really bad," Papadimitriou said.

Utah is ranked 28th out of 50 in the home and community safety ranking. That ranking includes factors such as bullying in schools, theft, assaults and murders.

Utah ranked 37th out of 51 states, including the District of Columbia, for total law enforcement employees per capita, ranked 11th safest for murder and non-negligent manslaughter per capita, and 22nd safest for forcible rape per capita based on the number of arrests.

Utah ranked 12th safest for assaults per capita, 47th for theft per capita and 32nd safest for sex offenders per capita.

Utah's incarceration rate came in at No. 6 overall, meaning fewer people per capita are incarcerated in the Beehive State than in most other states. Drug abuse per capita was 33rd safest based on arrests, and suicide rate per capita ranks Utah at No. 40. The bullying incident rate ranks Utah at No. 24.

"The crime category needs work from local officials," Papadimitrious said. "(The state needs) significant work because it's below average."

Popular Comments

This is a bogus story. There's no way, NO WAY, that DC is a safe place to
live.

8:52 p.m. June 16, 2014

Top comment

Kings Court

Alpine, UT

This is messed up. D.C. is ranked as one of the safest places to live? Ha, ha,
ha, ha.

8:31 p.m. June 16, 2014

Top comment

ChiMed

South Jordan, UT

It's not just D.C. In what universe is Illinois safer than Utah?! I thought
Chicago alone could push it out of the top 10, even without adding in multiple
other high-murder, high-crime areas in the state. Maybe they mixed up the bottom
10 and
More..